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By Anush Elbakyan, Boston.com Staff

Julie Chen revealed during CBS's "The Talk" that she had plastic surgery years ago to make her eyes look "bigger" in order to advance her career.

As a 25-year-old news reporter in Dayton, Ohio, Chen faced racism in the workplace when her news director told her, "You will never be on this anchor desk, because you're Chinese." He also said, "Let’s face it Julie, how relatable are you to our community? … Because of your Asian eyes, sometimes I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera and you’re interviewing someone, you look disinterested, you look bored because your eyes are so heavy, they are so small."

After meeting with several agents who suggested that she undergo plastic surgery if she wanted to further her TV career, Chen, with her parents' support, went ahead with the procedure. "And after I had it done, the ball did roll for me," she said. "And I wondered, did I give in to the man?"

“I don’t like to live with regrets,” she said. “I did it, I moved on. No one’s more proud of being Chinese than I am.”

Chen, 43, currently hosts "The Talk." She previously hosted shows like ”Big Brother” and “The Early Show.”

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